Pieces may finally be falling into place for Gose
Outfielder has been showing new-found patience at the plate
The other day Anthony Gose stepped up to the plate against Boston Red Sox left-hander John Lester and it should have been a disaster. After all, Gose has trouble hitting lefties. And Lester is as difficult as they come. But in his third at-bat, after striking out and attempting a sacrifice bunt, the Toronto Blue Jays centre-fielder drove a four-seam fastball — the seventh pitch he saw — hard to centre field for a double.
It was the kind of moment where you might say it clicked for the kid.
That the same player who has bounced up and down from the minors and tantalized and teased coaches and teammates with his speed and dynamic fielding had finally got it. And maybe that’s true. Maybe the fielder, who has hit safely in five of the last seven games, has turned the corner in his young career.
But right now, Gose is viewing it for what it was: just one at-bat.
“I look back and say I felt good at that at-bat. But I’m not saying it’s clicked,” said Gose, who was called up last week for the injured Colby Rasmus. “I’ve played what, seven games? There’s nothing really to get excited about. These guys play 150 games and have 500 at bats. Having 15 to 20 at-bats isn’t really anything to write home about.”
And yet, we’re writing about Gose because of what this sample size might mean for the team’s immediate and long-term future.
The 23-year-old is not just another call-up. He could be something special. He has a cannon for an arm and jogs to balls in the outfield that others have to dive for. His speed is such a weapon that he could probably bunt his way to a .300 average if he wanted to. He has the potential to be the best centre-fielder to ever wear a Blue Jays uniform or at least make Rasmus, who is a free agent at the end of the season, expendable.
All he has to do is continue putting it all together.
“I feel like it’s going all right. I can’t complain,” said Gose, who was called up for one game in April and for two games at the beginning of the month, before going down. “I’ve been up for the past few years, learned a lot. I’ve been up here and failed. I’ve been up here and had success. It’s one of those things where you just keep going and try to get better.”
When the Philadelphia Phillies selected Gose in the second round of the 2008 amateur draft, the team’s southern California-area scout told reporters that Gose’s speed and defence were majorleague ready, but that his bat would take a while. “The power will come as he gets older. The bat is what is going to carry Anthony.”
So far, the bat has been carrying Gose. He has gone 5-for-17 with two doubles and a .455 on-base percentage since replacing Rasmus.
His track record is he doesn’t walk that much and now he’s walking a lot and having long at-bats.
The numbers, said hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, not only illustrate Gose’s discipline at the plate but his ability to drive balls when he has the chance.
“His track record is he doesn’t walk that much and now he’s walking a lot and having long atbats,” said Seitzer. “He’s had some eight-pitch at-bats. He’s been doing great.”
Seitzer has been working with Gose to avoid pulling the ball, because “that’s just one of the things that can get him in trouble.” There are also obvious benefits in having the ball end up on the left side of the field, where Gose can run out an infield grounder for a base hit. To that end, the Jays have always given him the green light to bunt his way on base, which he has successfully accomplished twice in three attempts this year.
“That’s big for him. I mean, he’s pretty good at it, too,” manager John Gibbons said of Gose’s ability to bunt. “Any guys that can run, that’s got to be part of their game. What it does is it draws the corner guys in — even the second baseman — because he runs so well. It opens up more holes. From here on out, it’s got to be a part of his career. It’s a weapon.”
Where this ends up is ultimately up to Gose. Like any young player, consistency has been the issue with someone who has the tools to become a fixture in centre field. A seven-game sample is a good start, but it does not make a career. And Gose knows it.
“It feels good, definitely. I’m not saying it doesn’t feel good,” he said. “But overall it’s only been a few atbats. It’s easy to talk about it now when things are going good. But when things are going bad people will be coming around asking what’s going on.
“I mean, we’ll see at the end what you really think.”